Question

If you are breast feeding, can stress, and crying, and all that affect the milk and baby?

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Im hispanic, and idk if its just Hispanic moms, or anyone...but my mom always tells me not to have any stress or be sad, or cry or anything like that while I am breast feeding. She says it can make my milk go bad, and make my baby sick. And even kill him. Not only does she tell me that, but many of my family members do. I've asked nurses and they tell me it doesn't affect the milk. But like they say, moms know best...so I'm afraid to give my baby milk when I am really sad or feeling depressed. My baby is premature so I pump his milk.

Mom Answers

This is absolutely not true for all the reasons PP stated. More anecdotally, I cried all the time while nursing my oldest. I had a small bout of post partum depression and even went on a chick flick watching spree at one point. He is now 4 and more than healthy. And he obviously didn't die because I nursed him while I was emotional.
On that note, "they say that mother's know best" is also not true at all. I'm sure your mom did a great job raising you with the info she had available, but there are somethings we just know better about now. Moms can be SUPER pushy about the way they did things when they were raising kids. It's because they think if you decide to do something different, that you're telling them they did everything wrong. It's important to tell her she did a great job raising you, but it's your turn to do things your way. You may do things different because you have different info, but that doesn't mean she did everything wrong.

Oh goodness no, this rumor goes around in various countries (most recently in China) and it seems to be a combination of old wives' tale and rumor started by formula companies. Think about it this way: Women have been nursing for thousands of years, through wars, famine, bad family situations, etc. How would humanity have survived if the milk went bad from every negative feeling? Milk is made from your blood. Unless you are worried about your blood spoiling, don't worry about your milk either. And by the way, a number of studies have shown that babies who aren't nursed are at higher risk of major depression later in life. As with everything else parenting, thank your relatives kindly and tell them that your doctor is aware and supportive of you nursing full time!

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